Tire Building Machine Position Control for Material Strip Alignment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing tire building machines face challenges in achieving precise alignment and positioning of material strips, leading to positional errors that affect the quality and smoothness of the tires produced, due to machine inaccuracies and transfer errors.

Innovation Solution

A method and machine design that uses conveyors with position control systems, including sensors and digital controllers, to record and correct positional errors by comparing the actual position of material strips with target values, allowing for iterative compensation of errors in each production cycle, ensuring precise alignment and high-quality tire production.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If conventional conveyors are used to transport material strips to the drum, then the production process can be maintained, but positional errors and misalignment occur due to machine inaccuracies and transfer errors

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepositioning accuracy of material stripsVSAvoidalignment quality of material strips
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a feedback control system where sensors detect the actual position of material strips on the drum, the position control unit compares this with the target position, and correction values are fed back to adjust the conveyor positioning in subsequent cycles, iteratively reducing positional errors

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts positioning parameters of the conveyor based on measured errors. The position control unit modifies the conveyor's lateral or rotational position parameters in each cycle to compensate for accumulated misalignment, transforming fixed positioning into adaptive parameter adjustment

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Manufacturing precision

If position control is implemented to correct alignment errors, then manufacturing precision improves, but device complexity increases due to additional sensors and control systems

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvealignment precision of material stripsVSAvoidcomplexity of position control system
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses the existing conveyor infrastructure and drum structure to achieve positioning correction. The sensors utilize the drum's rotation and the conveyor's inherent movement capabilities, requiring minimal additional hardware while achieving self-correcting positioning through the feedback loop

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The position control unit serves multiple functions: it monitors conveyor position, detects material strip alignment, calculates correction values, and controls conveyor positioning. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components for each function

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP2001661B1Device and method for building a tyre
Publication Date: 2012.05.23 TEXMAG GMBH VERTRIEBS
  • EP2001661B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2001661B1 patent drawingFigure 2

AI summary

A tyre building machine (1) comprises a rotatable drum (2), to which material strips (7) can be applied. Material strips (7) are transported to the drum (2) by means of conveyors (3). The run of the pieces of material (7) transversely to the running direction is sensed by means of a first sensor (9) and fed to a position controlling device (12). In order to compensate for machine- and transfer-dependent errors, at least a second sensor (16) is provided in the region of the drum (2), sensing the position of the material strip (7) transversely to the running direction. An output signal of this second sensor (16) is in operative connection with the position controlling device (12) in order to correct the setpoint value correspondingly.